Bangladesh cricket team is preparing for a three-match ODI series against Ireland next month, which is part of the World Cup Super League. Ahead of the series, the team is setting up a three-day practice camp in Sylhet, which is unusual as the team usually trains in Dhaka before a foreign tour.
Bangladesh’s head coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, explained that the decision was made because Sylhet's conditions are familiar to those in England.
"When we played in Sylhet last time, I felt that the conditions there are similar to those in England. So, I think we should host a camp in Sylhet before this tour," Hathurusingha said on Wednesday after a meeting with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials.
The coach also cited the ongoing heatwave in Dhaka as another reason for choosing Sylhet to host the practice camp.
The Bangladesh team will be without Test captain Shakib Al Hasan, right-handed top-order batter Litton Das, and left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman during the camp. Shakib is on personal leave in the USA, while the other two players are busy with the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The media will have only a 30-minute window a day to cover this practice camp. The BCB has said the journalists interested in collecting video footage or images of the practice camp will have to enter and leave the stadium in a fixed timeframe.
The camp will conclude on April 29, and the matches of this tour will be played on May 9, 12 and 14 at the County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford. Ahead of the tour, the Bangladesh team will play a tour match on May 5.